Anomaly
by Kamzil118
Summary: Artyom finds a strange red anomaly, but ends up found in another world. Little does he know that he is walking in the middle of an outbreak with strange creatures that could threaten humanity. However, he comes into contact with Team Rainbow as they travel throughout the quarantine zone and stop the epidemic. Meanwhile, he finds himself in the company of colorful people.
1. Chapter 1: Scavenger

A lone Polis Ranger walked alone amongst the ruins of the Dead City. Ever since the nuclear war that destroyed the heart of a beating country, he cautiously walked through the open areas with his Kalashnikov in hand. His superior wanted him to secure a particular location that wouldn't be too far from the bunker complex known as D6.

There were reports of a strange red sighting that appeared in one building from a single stalker who survived an engagement against the undead; however, his detailed report also included that they suffocated to death from breathing the toxic atmosphere. Perhaps it was worth checking out. If the watchmen and the demons could handle breathing the toxic air, maybe there would be something worthy of looking at.

When he arrived at the front of the apartment, Artyom noted the difference between the this building compared to the others. This one was filled with strange red materials that were sticking out of the walls and windows. As he made his way up the steps, he looked inside to see a dark hallway with pulsing red light on the other side of the room. He couldn't see too clearly before turning on his flashlight and witnessing the scene that lay before him. Dozens of bodies were lying on the ground, lifeless as their hands were holding onto their throats.

These people choked to death.

Getting a closer look, Artyom walked forward and noticed that their hands turned into these sharp protrusions sticking out. Was this some kind of mutation he hadn't seen before? Did these people willfully embrace the radiation to get this?

On the other side of the hallway, there was a red glowing door-like anomaly that was pulsing out to reality. He didn't know what it was, but it didn't try to kill him. For some odd reason, he was entranced by the light as he walked forward to try and reach it.

Despite being entranced by it, the Polis Ranger heard a low growl behind his back as he turned around and saw a mutant pushing back against its hind legs.

Artyom pulled his assault rifle to his side and fired his weapon as the creature pounced on him. The body slammed into his as he fell back and was engulfed by the strange red energy of the anomaly.

When he fell on his back, the Ranger felt the creature deepen its claws into his body, but he reacted faster. Reaching for his trench knife, he stuck the blade in it's jugular as blood seeped spilled onto his gas mask, but whatever strength it had was gone. The young man shoved the mutant aside and swiped the blood off the glass as he rose up from the ground.

Yet, he was filled in shock when he looked around to no longer recognize the Dead City of Moscow. Instead of daylight it was night time, where there should have been tall buildings of Moscow there was these small homes, but the strange red crystal-like material was evermore present. Wherever he was, thoughts about returning back home to the Metro entered his thoughts. After all, he didn't have time to waste his air filters exploring a place that might get him killed.

He turned his full attention towards the red anomaly and tried to make his way back, but it disappeared on him. "Fuck!" He swore to himself, filled with frustration and a slight sense of fear. He was expected to return to the Metro as soon as he learned what was inside this apartment.

When he looked at his surroundings, Artyom was afraid. That anomaly brought him here and now he had no way back. There was no point in staying as he braved through the empty buildings.

Unlike the Dead City, he heard nothing, but an eerie silence. No gunfire in the distance or people calling out for help. Since it was too dark, he turned on his flashlight and began to walk alone in the streets and hoped that he could survive this strange endeavor.

* * *

Technology had advanced and with each decade it would become more complicated and bring new bugs for the operators to fix, but the drone's feed never lied. The entire area was put under quarantine ever since the outbreak had occurred. Most of the inhabitants couldn't get out, but those who did had managed to be cleared by the medical teams waiting at the checkpoints. However, they had to be closed when those "roaches" descended on the crowds of civilians trying to escape to freedom.

An FBI agent along with many others were watching the camera feed with their own eyes, witnessing a lone man walk alone and all by himself. One of her peers spoke up and commented on the matter. "Ash, didn't you say that everyone in the quarantine zone is considered dead?" The man spoke up.

The woman wasn't afraid of the truth. "That's the estimate, but we're still getting stragglers coming out to the checkpoints. Unlike the others all of you just saw him appear out of those red summons with whatever tried to kill him."

A Russian who was sitting in his chair commented on the situation. "Could it be that he's behind this entire mess?"

"I don't know, Tachanka. We'll have to conduct a search operation after we try out Thermite's special charges." Then Ash placed a finger on her earpiece. "Jager, get your helicopter running and inform Buck to join you. Tachanka and I will be there shortly."

"Why would you need a guy like me?" Tachanka asked.

Ash glanced towards the other FBI agent crossing his arms. "If his charges are anything he says, it will take some time. We'll need your machine gun."

"Very well." He said as he rose from his seat. "Thermite, try not to have fun being in charge."

"No worries, pal." He answered. "I just hope Fuze's charges don't explode on you."

"You chose Fuze of all people to design this thing?"

Thermite nodded his head. "Yeah, he's good at this stuff. Now get going before Eliza gives you hell for waiting too long."

* * *

Author's Note: Thoughts? I've been given too many plotbunnies and I need to write it out to get rid of them.


	2. Chapter 2: Trespasser

Whatever this place was, Artyom wished he was back home, in the Metro. It was easier knowing the known world, but this place was entirely different. With his gas mask still on, the Ranger continued his path towards a strange building, but he turned off his flashlight when he saw humans stumbling in the distance. They were similar to the bodies he had seen before when he arrived at that apartment.

Then the four people turned their full attention towards him. Did they know he was there in the parking lot? They rushed for him, but their bodies began to mutate before his very eyes. Their backs, their hands, transformed into these crystal-like features, their fangs so to speak. The strangers did not speak, but they cried out after him.

Artyom didn't want to shoot, but there was no choice. Drawing his suppressed assault rifle, he fired away. As the bullets struck their bodies, he noticed splotches of red where the bullets landed. These weren't human - not anymore. They didn't react like normal humans, but through his scope he saw one bullet deal a blow through one's head. These creatures were strong, but they were not hard to kill.

All, but one remained. The last was on the ground with its leg off, but it's will to try and kill him still remained.

He stepped closer towards the person - few inches away from being struck in the shin, he aimed the barrel at its head and pulled the trigger. It was a mercy kill. Then he made his way into the building.

When he stepped through the main front doors, he looked around to see the interior show strange designs Artyom had never seen before. It was very different from the buildings he had seen in Moscow, but that didn't matter while he noted the crystal-like formations were appearing to have taken root inside. He looked to his right to see a path lead into a restaurant-like place he had never seen before. The Metro had several of these places before, but they were never that big since the train platforms needed to be used for passage or living space.

His curiosity quickly faded out of memory when he noticed several bodies lying on the floor. It appeared there were dozens of armed soldiers were present here, but their wounds appeared to be fresh. Whatever killed them, he hoped it wasn't around. However, he stumbled upon one body and found that the dead man's face was not covered. Why wasn't he wearing a gas mask.

Artyom turned his body around for closer inspection to see he didn't have a gas mask on. That was impossible? The surface was always inhospitable unless the surface on this part of the earth was not toxic for the air. He contemplated about taking off his gas mask to save his air filters, but there was a chance a quick whiff of the air could kill him. His hands reached for his straps as he held his breath for a quick moment.

After he slipped the gas mask off his head, the Ranger took the opportunity to open his mouth and breath. Instead of the toxic chemicals he could choke on, his nostrils felt the humid air and the clean feeling deep into his lungs. Could it be that he was dreaming and could be dead? More chances at breathing the air around were taken, only to accept the fact that the air around here was not polluted. That was enough for him to smile.

He knelt beside the body and inspected the man's weapon. If the bullet casings beside his body were anything to go by, the weapon was already fired. The Ranger grabbed the weapon and ejected the magazine out of place, just to see the remaining bullets inside. However, he took a closer look at their specs, only to see they were a different caliber. Five-point-five-six rounds? He had never seen that before.

Artyom's inspection of the bullets was short-lived when he heard gunfire behind his back. He turned around with his Kalashnikov in hand, but the distance was coming on the other side of the building. Whoever it was, their cries sounded like these people were endangered by something attacking them.

Given that he hadn't met a single person during his entire experience in this strange place, the young man left the bodies and made his way towards the other side of the building. He hoped they would be friendly stalkers who could explain what was going on in this strange location.

Stepping out of the room, Artyom heard the gunfire coming from the second floor. He immediately made his way up the spiral staircase in hopes he could find genuine human beings after being brought to this place. The young man bypassed rooms and avoided making noise when there was debris in the way, but he was not disappointed.

Those strange-looking people were rushing towards an opening in the wall, but streams of gunfire struck those unlucky enough to get in the way. However, others were able to slip in and rush towards their new victims. Yet, one of them stopped in its tracks and turned its head towards him. An inhuman cry was all that it screeched out before three of them broke from the main pack and charged after him.

Without hesitation, the Polis Ranger raised his assault rifle and fired away. Three quick bursts were all that were needed to put them down. As their bodies stopped completely, Artyom switched his assault rifle out for his makeshift combat shotgun as he made his way to the opening through the wall.

When his head peaked out from safety, there were more than a dozen bodies littered across the floor, but they were converging around a organic pillar that was placed in the room. Past them, three people were standing before him. All three of them were wearing yellow protective suits with their faces hidden away by the gas masks. One of them - a woman - informed her teammates of her situation. "I'm out, reloading!" She stated.

One man was firing his mounted light machine gun at the creatures while the other was firing his assault rifle with an underbarrel attachment. The trio was intimidating, but it appeared they were about to be swarmed since one of their companions wasn't ready.

Artyom noticed one of the creatures on the ground lashing out at the group despite being unable to reach them. However, its body was regenerating before his very eyes. Once it got up from the floor it screamed at them. Bringing his shotgun to bear, the Ranger blasted his weapon - spending three shotgun shells to sweep the entire room clear of the monsters.

The woman saw him when she finished reloading. "What the hell?" She said to herself. "You there, get over here!" The woman ordered.

The organic pillar exploded, leaving a mess around the room, but he climbed into the opening in the wall and met their gaze.

"Alright, who are you and what the hell are you doing here?" The woman demanded of him. "Don't you know this entire area is under quarantine?"

No. He had no idea that he was brought before a quarantine zone. Artyom shook his head simply because of her commanding voice. "No, I didn't know." He answered.

The masked man with the assault rifle lowered his weapon. "How come? You must have been living under a rock if you don't have a fucking clue that everything went to shit around here."

However, the man behind the machine gun tapped the woman's shoulder. "Ash, look at his gas mask." He began, but the young man recognized his Russian voice. "It's the one we saw earlier."

Artyom looked down at his gas mask, only to see the used equipment still have a fresh air filter on. "I don't know what's going on."

"Bullshit." He replied. "Now talk."

"Again, I don't know. All I know was that I was in Moscow one day and now I'm wherever this place is."

The woman glanced over to the older man. "You believe him, Tachanka?"

He shrugged his shoulders as he began to take down his mounted light machine gun into a compact state. "We'll have to find answers when we get back to the briefing room. Maybe Thermite or Doc could have a quick run-down on this guy."

"Alright." Ash acknowledged before her hands reached over to the earpiece. "Jaeger, we finished eliminating the targets. Head over to the exfiltration point."

A voice from her radio was loud and clear for the young man, but his accent was different to say the least. "Copy that, heading over-" His voice was interrupted by something else going on.

"Jaeger?!"

"I'm going down! Something hit me. I'll try to make a soft landing!" His voice was cut out.

The man with the assault rifle didn't appear to be pleased by the events. "Fuck, something must have gotten him."

Ash garnered everyone's attention as she stopped being tense around Artyom. "Buck, on point. Tachanka in the rear." Then she took notice of him. "I have plenty of questions to ask kid, but we'll take care of that once we rescue our pilot."

Artyom understood. "I'll come." He acknowledged. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go."

"Also get your gas mask on, I don't want you to get infected."

* * *

Author's Note: Given that Rainbow Six Siege fanfiction crossovers are very hard to find I decided to continue this, but I am surprised at the first initial reception of the first chapter.

* * *

 **blackout322** : That depends on the reception of the chapters.

 **Guest** : No, nope, nyet, nein.

 **iloveTanks** : No Pavel and no Red Line.

 **Hindresh** : Thank you.

 **blaiseingfire** : Yeah, I'm surprised no one decided to have some fun with the Outbreak event. There was plenty of potential.

 **Bruva Boreale** : It was already gone by the time this chapter is done.

 **TMDF-Artyom** : There was this one character who looks a bit similar to a stalker from _S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl._

 **Guest** : No. Think more like the song from the Mobius Trailer.

 **Guest** : That depends. I don't have _Metro 2035_ and _Metro Exodus_ has not come out yet. If I make a fic that early, it might not be recognizable and I don't have anything to go on.

 **EzioIsPIRATE** : You should try and take a look at the games. Most of my fics usually go from the game continuity with slight references from the books. If you can, try to buy the game.

 **StelarToe6133** : Patience is a virtue.


	3. Chapter 3: Adventurer

The party of four had traveled for a time, going through the rubble of broken buildings and empty stores. Unlike the streets of the Dead City of Moscow, Artyom noted that there was still power juicing up the electricity. What caused this place to feel so… alien to him?

After he followed the others up a ladder, he pulled out his shotgun earning strange glares at his weapon. "What?" He wondered. Why were they so surprised?

"It's your shotgun." Tachanka answered.

The other man was quick to talk. "What is that horror made out of?"

Artyom inspected his weapon. "Kitchen parts."

"Damn, you have to be a maverick to scramble anything to make a shotgun like that." Buck replied.

Ash, who ignored their conversation for a time, got their attention. "Cut the chatter, we don't know if the roaches are nearby. Thermite, how far are we from Jager's position?"

There was an immediate reply from her radio. "Not too far. You'll have to cut through a neighborhood then a parking lot to find him. His last known coordinates appear to be around an abandoned store." Thermite reported. "If the drones feed is anything to go by, they haven't converged on his position yet."

"Good, keep an eye on him. The rest of us and our guest will rescue him."

"Consider yourself lucky that you didn't bring Fuze."

"Haha, very funny." The woman replied. Then she turned her gaze on everyone. "Stick close and don't try to be reckless.

"Of course we won't be reckless." Buck stated. "We are counter-terrorists for Christ's sake."

"Not you, him." Ash gave a quick nod to their young companion on the roof. "Alright people, let's go."

When she led the way, the group began to make its way down the roof by descending through the collapsed part of the building. The streets were quiet, but Artyom took a glance to his left to find movement in the open. "I see movement on our left." He whispered, hoping the former people wouldn't notice them.

"Good call, rookie." Then she turned her gaze on Buck. "With me. We'll pick them off. Tachanka, Artyom, cover us."

As the duo proceeded down the street, the ground began to shake. Artyom knew that something big was coming. His experience in the Moscow State Library was the best teacher when it came to large beasts. However, the presence of the shaking was evidence something was coming their way.

Tachanka grabbed him off the fallen building as they hid behind a broken car. "Shit, everyone take cover." He alerted the others as they soon hid behind the remains of a police car.

Two buildings ahead, the store on the right exploded with fire and glass. The 'roaches' that were in the way did little to avoid the explosion. Their bodies incinerated at the first contact of the flames, but the truth showed itself when the flames began to die. A large armored figure had survived the encounter and shook the flames off, but then it turned its head towards the party.

"Fucking hell, smasher!" Buck screamed to the top of his lungs. The man raised his assault rifle and open fired upon the creature.

Ash was quick to do the same before she stopped focusing on the beast and began to gun down the packs of roaches storming out of the building. Meanwhile, Tachanka stepped out of cover and pulled his machine gun off his back. Then he pressed forward and fired his weapon while the remaining parts still remained.

Despite their resistance, Artyom remained frozen and somewhat horrified at what he was seeing. This monster was worse than the librarians on the surface. He didn't know whether it was out of fear for his own skin or for the others, the young man switched his makeshift shotgun for a weapon designed by the forgemasters in the Metro. When he finally brought out his railgun, he charged the battery's power to the maximum and aimed down its sights.

When he pulled the trigger, his weapon sparked to life with the first shot flying into the armored beast, penetrating its thick hide with the super-heated projectile. The monster fell to its knees while the others turned their heads at him with surprise.

Then Ash began to applaud him. "Whatever that thing your using, it's working. Keep it up!"

After the battery recharged from his first shot, he fired again. The fifteen-millimeter ball puncturing another hole into the armored creature. Its head looked up to the skies and roared its agonized pain throughout the night. Out from the store was a creature with strange yellow-like material on its back. Before it had the chance to move, the smasher reached out for it and tossed its victim towards him.

Tachanka looked up and fired his light machine gun at the flying body with a great explosion flying above him. "Watch out for the breachers, they explode!" He advised.

"Thanks." Artyom replied before he repeatedly fired his weapon at the monster.

Enraged by the development, the smasher rose up and charged towards the four members of the party. Whatever debris or cars were in the way, it broke through to descend upon the first two pointmen.

Buck started to move back as his bullets were bouncing off its armor. "Kill it!"

Ash looked at her partner in distress and reached for a strange weapon the Polis Ranger had not seen before. "Tachanka, watch my six Buck needs help."

The Russian nodded his head as he brought out his bipod for his light machine gun. When he finally placed it down, he planted his gun on top, he yelled. "LMG, mounted and loaded!" Then he fired away while Ash avoided both the roaches and the bullets alike.

After the woman found a clear shot, she fired.

Artyom watched her weapon penetrate the back of the smasher when it almost reached for the soldier fleeing from its might. It screamed at its own suffering, but nothing would save it when its body exploded into various pieces. Yet, she was also exposing her back to a roach that got through. His quick reflex shifted the sights of his railgun on the roach before a quick pull of the trigger saved her life.

She looked over her shoulder and grabbed her weapon. The smoke trail was still present to as she took a quick look at him. "Thanks, I owe you one."

With that, he nodded his head before making his way to Buck.

The man with the assault rifle took a quick glance at him and chuckled. "Kid, mind telling me about that Frankenstein weapon of yours is?"

The Ranger looked at his railgun. "The Hellbreathe? It's a makeshift railgun."

Buck's expression changed immediately after he finished his sentence. "A railgun, how the hell did you make one?"

"I didn't," Artyom answered. "I bought it."

"From who?"

"It's rather hard to explain. I'll try after we rescue your friend."

Buck glanced over at the fallen remains of the smasher. "One thing I can say, it stopped that fucker." Then he patted him on the shoulder. "You're a good shot, maybe finding you was a good thing after all."

When the fighting was over, the group proceeded into the store where the smasher came out. However, Ash was on point when she made her way into the building's kitchen. "Clear, get inside. There's supplies for everyone." After Artyom stepped into the room, she closed the door as he looked around to see the kitchen filled with crates filled with military-grade weapons and supplies for everyone. "Looks like this was a safehouse for the previous team that went missing."

"Too bad they did not make it." Then he glanced over at the Ranger. "Kid, I think you'll need these." He have out his hand, revealing a handful of grenades.

Despite having enough makeshift fragmentation grenades, Artyom took them just to not be rude. Thankfully, he'll use his other ones first. "Spasibo."

"No problem."

He was quick to switch out his railgun before bringing his Shambler to bear. While he enjoyed the firepower of his AK, he prefered to use its ammo if he ran out.

Ash slowly walked over to the other side of the room to slide the door open. "Clear, I'm on point." When everyone was ready she lead the way with Artyom following them as the last man watching their back.

The street they entered was misshapen by the strange crystal-like carvings in the ground. "What could possibly cause this to happen?" He wondered out loud.

"The outbreak." She answered. "For the past couple of days, everything went to hell when patient zero unleashed whatever this is."

"What do you people plan to do about this?"

"I can't tell you. It's classified."

"Whatever classified plan you have, I hope it works. I'm already creeped out by this place."

The ground began to shift underneath his feet.

Artyom could felt the ground shake underneath his boots as he paused following the others. "Guys, do you feel that?"

Tachanka was quick to turn around and bring his sub-machine gun to bear. "Step back!" He shouted.

In a mere moment, the Polis Ranger was knocked off his feet and flew back. Had they disturbed something? When he landed on his back, he winced at the pain his spine would endure, but the spot where he was standing was owned by another. What was once a woman was now a freak of nature with red crystals protruding out of her body.

"Rooter!" The other three were quick to open fire by the monster, but it spun around with its legs digging deep into the ground.

Buck ran over to him with his assault rifle in one hand. "Get up, it'll try to get your feet."

As he pulled the young man off the ground, Artyom looked past him to see the patch of ground underneath Tachanka be filled with red spikes seeping out. He cried out in agony while he looked around. "Find that cyka!" Then it stopped for a moment.

While the soldiers tried to form a circle, the rooter appeared before the young man with its 'hands' dug deep into the ground. The patch of ground around the defenders found themselves surprised, but Artyom was quick to end this madness with a single blow. Out from his grenade belt, the Ranger lit the fuze, but slambed the grenade with spikes into the creature's back.

His actions had saved the others from succumbing to the attack while it turned around to confront him. Yet, the explosion came and knocked him back.

* * *

When Artyom opened his eyes, he felt his body ache at such a knock-out. The explosion's concussive did its work, but the first matter on his mind was the people who found him. His eyes found a light looking down on him as if heaven was finally getting a good look at his soul. He raised his hand to block the brightness out from his eyes, but when he looked around Artyom was back amongst the living. He found the other three members in the same room as him.

Ash noticed his awakening and made her way over. "Finally, you're awake. I thought the blast would have killed you for good." She knelt beside him before she brought out a red bag with her. "Don't start moving yet. I got to check if you're okay from the blast."

He turned his head towards the others. "It's not me you should be worried about, I'm fine. What I should be worried about is how are the rest of you holding up?" The young man asked. "I stuck a grenade on her back and the last thing I wanted was the rest of you taking the shrapnel."

Buck chuckled. "Don't worry, it is but a scratch. I do have a question."

"Ask away."

"What kind of grenade was that?" He wondered. "I know I handed you a couple of frags, but you stuck something on that rooter earlier."

"The sticky makeshift grenade? What about it?"

Should they truly be surprised that some of his weapons were made out of junk? "You have got to be kidding me. What do you have that isn't made out of god knows what?"

"Aside from my revolver and Kalash, that's it." Artyom answered as he rose up from the floor.

However, Ash's hand was pressed against his chest. "Kid, you took a grenade get some rest."

"I can't. Your friend is surrounded and needs our help. Any moment in time would get him killed."

"Yes, but I got to make sure you don't have any injuries."

"I'm alive, am I? Let's go and rescue this Jager."

A chuckle escaped from heavily armored Russian. "I don't know about you guys, but I like this guy. He has some determination in him."

Ash glanced over her shoulder. "His injuries could get himself killed."

Artyom grabbed her wrist and removed it from his chest. "There are worse things I had to worry about. A simple grenade injury is going to do it."

When he got up, the woman made her way to the room's door and unlocked it. "Very well, but don't say I didn't warn you. This is a risky choice and I hope you won't die on us. We got questions to ask once we're done here."

"It will be fine."

She slid the door open as Tachanka and Buck followed after her. Then Artyom stumbled forward as he brought out his shotgun. Stragglers were noted in the open, but the quick successive shots of the trio he accompanied killed them. As he followed in the wake of the aftermath, he saw a building with a strange sight break into the roof. The machinery's lights were flickering despite the damage it suffered, but he hoped the man who supposedly flew it had survived.

The building before them was open with Buck and Ash rushing forward to clear the room. However, he remained close behind Tachanka's back as they entered the building.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

The duo were securing the room while Tachanka rushed forward to the man sitting at the center with nothing, but a bandaged leg and a flare in his hand. "What a pleasant surprise. Tachanka, it's good to see you." The strange pilot began.

The burly Russian reached out with his hand. "Likewise, Jager."

With his name now revealed, the man turned his hidden gaze towards him. "Who is this guy?"

"Someone we found along the way." He answered.

Ash immediately called for help. "I'm going to need some help reinforcing the walls. Thermite says we got roaches."

Tachanka turned his armored visor towards his partner. "Artyom, I need you to protect Jager at all costs. If they break through, you can help him."

As he walked away to join the others, Jager looked up at the Polis Ranger. "Do you have a spare weapon?" Then he pointed up at the crashed vehicle behind him. "Mine's stuck in there and I don't think either of us are inclined to climb into the seats."

He reached for the weapon on his side and pulled his trusty revolver out of the holster. Then he brought small ammo belts of pistol ammunition for the weapon. "Do you think that should do?"

The wounded man nodded his head. "Ja, it is better than a flare." When he inspected the weapon, he appeared to be confused by the various attachments on it. "Is the ACOG on the revolver really necessary?"

Artyom nodded his head. "Sometimes I run out of ammo and need something for backup. The laser sight should help."

"It's been awhile since I fought at such ranges. I hope you got more ammo if I run out."

"I hope it never comes to that."

When the building was secure, the young man looked around to see the doors stapled with planks and the walls reinforced with steel. Tachanka's light machine gun was planted to have a full field of view of the open space if the obstacles didn't hold up. Behind the counter, Artyom looked to his left to see a door secured by Buck. Last, but not least, Ash was standing beside the window and observed the outside world.

Throughout this entire time, minutes of silence passed.

In a single moment, inhuman cries roared from the outside. A thunderous reply of shoes directed its full attention at their building and in response, Ash stepped away from the windows with her weapon ready. "That is a lot of roaches." She commented. Watching from the safety of the counters, Artyom noticed the backlash when she stepped back at the initial assault. "To your places, everyone!"

The grunts began to pierce through the barricades with their protrusions, the reinforced walls were met with a strange yellow-like substance, and dozens tried to squeeze through the openings in the barricades. Yet, their bodies were covered in a strange cloud-like aura that surrounded them.

"Apex!"

As the obstacles were broken through, a hail of gunfire was unleashed.

* * *

Author's Note: Consider yourselves lucky I was in the mood to update this crossover.

* * *

 **iloveTanks** : No need to tell me, it's in his wikia.

 **The Boy Who Read It** : Thank you.

 **blaiseingfire** : *Sees Abzats in the corner, shoves it behind desk*

 **Chalister** : Thanks.

 **blackout322** : Danke.

 **Guest** : When it comes out? Yes.

 **The Darkness Writhes** : I didn't want him to carry either of those weapons. They're both heavy and while I like the Abzats, it's also a converted HMG to fire buckshot. It didn't appear practical for Artyom to carry into combat.

 **Guest** : I never had any indication Tachanka was going to die.

 **Guest** : ...Okay?

 **Guest** : Why do you think that?

 **Guest** : Watch some Life of Boris by Life of Boris to learn about that Life of Boris to have the Life of Boris in the name of the Cheeki Breeki, cyka.

 **Whale** : If you're curious where Artyom learned English so well, it's an idea from my Metro/Fallout fic that I decided to use in all of my Metro fics.

As for the dead soldiers?

That kind of information is not important enough to him. Now if he was a pre-war survivor who knew better, he would have recognized them. However, the books has him contemplate the fact that since he's not going to go to the places that have their iconic images regarding the nationalities of those countries he wouldn't recognize it.

 **Guest** : You do realize Artyom's a silent protagonist in the games, right? As much as keeping him the silent guy is nice, it tends to limit characterization that the Metro novels don't have a problem with.


	4. Chapter 4: Loner

A grunt found the opportunity to stab a wooden plank out of place before its head slipped through the opening in the barricade to scream at the defenders. However, it's inhuman cry was cut down by Artyom's gunfire as he fired off the last bullets in his magazine. When his assault rifle ran dry, he was quick to reload his weapon before he looked to the others and their situation.

Tachanka's mounted machine gun was doing work as dozens of these infected slipped through the cracks. When the main doors exploded open, dozens poured through before his weapon cut through their packs. "Main door is breached!"

Soon the Ranger noticed the reinforced wall on the left explode from a bubbly chemical reaction. "Wall breached, covering!" Artyom shouted as he moved to secure the building's second opening.

"Watch it kid!" Buck commented. "The Apex is still out there."

Whatever the mutant was, the young man knew that it was dangerous. Suddenly, he saw swift movement making its way towards the second opening. A tall figure whose feet were floating off the ground was pointing its fingers at him before it raised its hands with fists clenched. Before his very eyes, a dozen more creatures appeared from pools of red and created more of these infected humans.

Artyom raised his Kalashnikov once more and pulled down the trigger. Unlike his previous experienced with the infected humans, they were harder to kill in comparison. However, he didn't relent as they succumbed to their power. When the last one was killed, the creature needed to die. His newfound companions would run out of ammo before the last of these creatures died.

He charged out of the opening with hope he could fight the monster before it had the opportunity to summon more. Bullets found their way into the Apex, but it was far more resistant to his weapons. Yet, the young man had other tools to dispatch these creatures. As he let his weapon hang from his body, Artyom pulled out his makeshift grenades before his lighter made contact with the fuzes. Compared to his normal grenades, these were perfect at unleashing a punch on hard targets.

One-by-one his sticky grenades landed beside the floating creature, some even sticking onto the remaining yellow clothes. Then a fiery explosion came as a result of his efforts. In that single moment, the Apex howled in agony before the weakened form appeared to be erupting something from the inside, but disintegrated into nothingness.

"Get back inside, more are coming!" Ash said. Without question, the Ranger returned back into the building to find their wounded man firing his pistol away.

The last of the infected fell with Tachanka releasing his grip on his weapon and leaning on the mount. "All in a day's work." He commented before turning his head to Buck. "How many did you get?"

"More than you." The man replied. "After all, I'm not the one who stands behind a turret and stays there?"

"Ha, you're just jealous I have a higher body count than you."

Then Ash was quick to silence them. "You two, quiet down. Our ride is here." She said as she made her way towards the wounded man. "Kid, follow us unless you want their company." It was clear she was referring to the infected humans.

"I'll pass their invite." Artyom replied.

"He has a sense of humor." Said Tachanka.

When everybody packed their gear and made their way outside of the building, he was amazed to see a strange flying object descending towards them. It landed in the center of the parking lot while various debris flew away from the loud machine with the spinning rotors on top. Yet, despite the machinery's magical nature, the Ranger saw it's pilot sitting in his seat nodding his head towards him.

"Alright, get in!" The older Russian shouted as they escorted Jager into the passenger seats.

Artyom was the last man who was about to board the flying machine, but his eyes noticed masked strangers walking past the cars with their weapons raised. "Who are they?"

When Tachanka turned his head, one of them spoke up. "Kill them all!" They shouted.

Gunfire erupted before he returned the same gesture towards the strangers who attacked him. Meanwhile, the helicopter lifted off without him as he gunned down the first three masked men who tried to kill him. Then a bullet struck him as he landed on his back. His armor caught the bullet, but that meant an opportunity for them to get their hands on him.

Without hesitation, he raised his weapon and continued the fight, before he saw a man with a strange shoulder-mounted weapon aiming towards the flying machine. Whoever they were, he was not going to let them kill the others. A burst of gunfire flew from his barrel before it struck the man operating the strange weapon.

Yet, this also brought the others some time to close the distance.

Artyom scooted back and fired back at his enemies. One-by-one, they fell like flies, but their numbers were many and he was just a single man. Another bullet struck him as he found himself lying down and his head turning to see the dozens of men who descended upon him. The first man who came up to him aimed his weapon towards him while his hands were raised. Would they shoot him on site like the Nazis of the Fourth Reich? He would never know.

When more of them came, they surrounded him, but one of them stepped forward with his pistol. "Look at what we have here boys. We have a live one. Take him back to one of our safe houses. As for you, we got plenty of questions to ask you." The last the young man saw was his boot coming down on him.

* * *

Ash began shouting at the pilot. "Bring us back! We left one behind."

The man flying the vehicle shook his head. "Negative, it was going to be too hot down there. We were lucky your pal stopped a missile locking on to your ride home."

Despite the commotion, Buck's words stuck everyone. "Ash, Tachanka, we got a problem. What the hell are the terrorists doing here? This place was supposed to be closed off to everyone, but now they're here." He noted.

"Buck, keep Jager some company, I'm going to make a call with Six. Maybe she can pull some strings."

As the Canadian made his way to ensure the German didn't bleed anymore, Ash pulled out her phone and called a very important contact. "Six, could you give me access to the drone feeds regarding our location. The terrorists are here."

* * *

Author's Note: I know this is a short update, but I'll do my best to make the next chapter longer and more enjoyable than this. Just be thankful I was able to get a chapter in. The next chapter should have more meat than this one.

* * *

 **blaiseingfire** : Artyom is going to be somewhat connected to a wonderful color of people like a rainbow… I'm somewhat ashamed I made the pun.

 **Chalister** : Danke schoen, I appreciated the review.

 **Guest** : No.

 **iloveTanks** : Yeah… don't be hoping for something I can't do.

 **Someguy** : Same response.

 **slackeradventure** : They would be surprised at the creativity of some civilians who live in one of the shittiest places in the Metro universes.

 **Bruva Boreale** : Yeah, the way you named Jager's name is correct. I'm just lazy doing it here.

 **Someguy the anon** : Artyom would not remember the Russian flag, because he was just too young to know. He was five years old when the bombs fell and twenty years have past since then. Why would he care about some flag when he's doing his best to remember his mother. Plus, the factions of the Metro have developed their own flags to a point that it's irrelevant to care about a dead nation from Artyom's point of view.

 **Cheeki Breekie** : That's debatable.

 **Halospartan** : Not my place to say. Don't want any memes pouring in this fic whether it be on purpose or on accident.

 **Junior VB** : Thanks.

 **Googleman** : Indeed.

 **Gas Mask Jack** : You're welcome.


	5. Chapter 5: Killer

Artyom violently woke up, shivering and cold. His body was bare, but wet and shivering in the center of the room with only his underwear being the only clothes he had. His arms felt sore as he tried to move them, but he looked up to see them binded by some rope. The young man looked at his surroundings, only to find himself locked in a room with only lightbulb being the source of light in this room. Where was he?

His thoughts left him when a hard painful beating smacked him in the leg. He screamed in agony before he heard a masculine chuckle behind him. "Alright fucker, you're awake." The stranger spoke from behind his back. However, the man walked in front of him while pushing a cart with several syringes laid out before him. The man's accent was nothing Russian, but almost similar to that of the woman he spoke to with that strange group of people she had in her company. "Hey, look at me."

The young man reluctantly did his best to avoid eye-contact, but his effort was in vain when he saw a baton hit him in the stomach.

"Look at me, asshole!"

The stinging pain forced him to do what he was told as his eyes fell upon a masked man, who was no different than the rest of the masked men that captured him. He remained silent when he continued.

"You're very different from the others." He commented. "My boss things you might have something worth bringing and I hope you do. Talk and we'll see how far things will go for you."

Artyom didn't know what he meant. "I don't know what you are talking about."

His baton smacked his left arm. "Bullshit, fucko. We saw you working with those operators. What do you know about them?"

"I don't."

"I'd figured you'd say that. You don't look like you'd be willing to talk so easily." He turned around and looked towards the cart of syringes as he placed his hand on his white mask. "Though, I'd be willing to convince you otherwise. Now which one is suitable to making you talk…"

The Ranger felt the rope between his bindings scrape against rough edges of metal that kept his arms up. He mentally considered making his escape he slowly moved his roped hands back and forth while it wasn't loud enough for his captor to hear. Artyom looked up to see the rope being undone and it was only a matter of seconds before he could find his freedom.

Then he stopped.

The masked stranger turned around with a syringe in his hand before he squirted some of its contents out. "Although you're being uncooperative, I'm giving you one more chance to talk before I stick this thing in you."

Artyom had nothing to tell to this man, because he had nothing. Thus the only remaining thing he could do was stay silent.

"Staying silent? Oh well, I'll have to do this the hard way. I'll make sure you'll feel this."

Looking past the man, the man's baton was left on the cart while his other hand slowly steadied himself to lung towards him. If there was ever a time to break free, it was now. The naked Polis Ranger forcefully brought down his hands as the ropes were cut free. His action alone caused the man to freeze in surprise.

"Motherfucker!"

His assailant lunged towards him with the needle, but Artyom swatted his syringe aside as he tackled his captor to the ground. Then his arm struggled to choke the man who interrogated him, but strength alone couldn't keep him down. The man's free arm reached for the baton as the stranger tried to reach for his radio on his person. However, it wouldn't help him when the Russian survivor struck him in the head with all of his force.

The man's mask cracked open, but the deed was done. The blow to his mind had killed him while he lay lifeless on the ground. What creeped the Ranger out was his eyes staring at him despite being his final moment. He wasn't the first person to look into the soul of his killer, but Artyom knew it wouldn't be the last time he'd find another person doing the same.

Thanks to being naked, Artyom felt the need to strip the man of his clothes as he scavenged whatever he had. After putting on his clothes, the Polis Ranger found a holster along with a foreign pistol and several magazines as well. The lightly armored vest would protect him for now, but he needed to find some heavier firepower. The last item he found was a set of keys, but that alone made him look around for the exit, only to find the door across from him.

He walked forward and made his way towards the door while his tools for freedom came with a baton and strange handgun.

* * *

The command tent remained silent as several team members watched the live drone footage of the building the terrorists took him to. Ash pressed her thumb onto her pen before addressing the obvious issue. "So this is where they took Artyom?" She quietly whispered to herself.

On her right, Thermite crossed his arms while Tachanka sat beside him with his legs on the table. "Ash, do you think we'll find him there?"

Thermite was quick to comment. "I've been tracking the drone feed while you three were returning from your op. The terrorists dragged his body with them while keeping away from the infected."

"The biggest question is what the hell are they doing here? It has been months since their attack on Bartlett." Tachanka noted. "Given that they haven't shown us any of their motives, we should be concerned with them now that Doc is helping cure the infected."

Ash was quick to speak up. "I'd like to know as well, but first, we should rescue this Artyom fellow and bring him back."

The male breacher spoke his thoughts. "Given that he's Russian, Tachanka, what can you tell us about him?"

"Hell if I know." The gunner replied. "From what I saw, the kid wore a mismatch set of gear on him. He wore Russian body armor for the army, but his helmet was police riot gear."

Then the woman took the lead. "Thankfully, we don't have the speculate. Several of our colleagues are already in position to breach the perimeter and enter the building." Their eyes focused on the drone feed, only to see several blinking figures slowly approaching the perimeter. "Twitch, what do you have?"

A thick French accent echoed through the line. "The place looks very low-tech. Nothing substantial other than crates of ordnance for traps if breaches head into the wrong location. Hostiles are the usual, but - hold up. One of them is walking around with his weapon drawn and doesn't have his mask. My drone's connection is clear."

"Alright, putting it up." The trio watched the screen change when with a drone scanning around with several masked terrorists walking around without knowing they were being watched. However, Ash noticed the drone's side of the room, a man was hiding behind a pillar with his sidearm drawn and a baton in the other arm. She froze in realization when she recognized the man wearing the clothes of the terrorists. "Our guy is dressed up just like them."

"Yeah." Tachanka commented. "He just doesn't have the mask."

The sight of seeing Artyom step out of cover was a surprise as he open fired upon the three unsuspecting terrorists sitting on the couch at the center of the room. "Gunshots fired, gunshots fired! Twitch, get your team to breach and check your fire! Our VIP dresses up like them, but doesn't wear the mask."

The woman acknowledged her. "Blitz, get in there!"

* * *

"He's downstairs!"

Artyom grabbed a light machine gun off one of the men as he heard the footsteps above. He looked up to see the wooden planks being the only ones in the way. Pulling the trigger, he unleashed his firepower as the bullets riddled his attackers through the floor. The only sign that confirmed his kill was the blood dripping through the bullet holes.

He lowered his weapon as he proceeded to advance through the hallway to find a set of stairs heading up. The young man cautiously moved step by step with his weapon drawn and hoped nobody was there to stop him.

When he reached the top of the stairs, he looked on the far side of the hallway to see a doorway barricaded in planks. However, he was met with several men aiming at him between him and freedom. "Checkmate, fucker!"

Artyom realized he was trapped and they wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

Yet, a strange noise came from the barricade before several black objects flew throughout the hallway. Whatever it was, he took the opportunity to go back down the stairs as he heard loud clicking and a quick immediate flashing throughout the hallway. Then he looked back at this third party that arrived.

The barricade exploded before a man with a shield stormed in and flashed the masked men with his shield. Then he drew his pistol and gunned them down. "Move it!"

More people entered the hallway, but one of them took the lead and noticed him as she cautiously lowered her weapon. "Sledge, Blackbeard, clear the building!" She shouted before focusing her full attention on him. "Sir, lower your weapon. We're not here to hurt you."

While the other four people behind her stormed the building and fired off their weapons at the survivors, Artyom was stunned by the sudden arrival of his rescuers. Every single fiber of his stalker experience told him not to easily trust strangers, but then he heard her speak onto her radio.

"Ash, we've found him. He wasn't hard to find."

The familiar name clicked in as he spoke. "Wait, you know her?"

"Yeah, she sent us to rescue you. Name's Twitch. Come with us, we got to go."

* * *

Author's Note: A little bit longer, but I hope it's good enough. Given that I went off the rails, it will require a bit more effort on my part.

* * *

 **Halospartan** : No problem.

 **LanzCorporalAssWipe** : Yep.

 **Someguy the anon** : Thanks.

 **blaiseingfire** : Get out of here stalker.


	6. Chapter 6: Explorer

A large majority of the Rainbow operatives found themselves in the command room as Ash busied herself with the situation around the quarantine zone. Reports from U.S. guardsmen report fighting against infected, but also the white masks. The mere fact that they were here only made the issue worse now that they didn't seem to be attacked by the red-colored creatures that struck against the reserves of the U.S. Armed Forces. However, she was rather curious about the strange Russian man who appeared in the city and told him about his origins. The evidence of such a place was only strengthened when a search and destroy team discovered a creature that matched the descriptions of what Artyom called a mutant.

One of the operators broke the silence with her her French accent. "So what do we know about this Artyom character?" She asked. "It's rather odd he suddenly appeared in the quarantine zone with a gas mask and that Frankenstein he calls a railgun."

Another took the chance to speak about it. "Ash, why haven't we brought him here for questioning?"

The bearded American operator knew the truth as she turned away from the live feed of soldiers on the ground to confront her peers. "Artyom says he's from another place where World War Three ended and he was one of their survivors. Now I would have dismissed his claim, but we decided to quarantine him just in case. As it turns out, what he says is true based off the higher doses of radiation on his person. It's surprisingly high, but not enough to kill him. Unless the United States has some nuclear testing ground nearby, this is the best information we got on him. At the moment, they're cleaning his gear of any potential radiation threats and washing him up while we're wondering about the white masks."

Then a bald British man chimed in. "Before we even made contact with him, the lad had a knack for making bodies hit the floor. We can cross out that he's an innocent bystander. What do you think, Tachanka?"

The heavily armored Russian crossed his arms. "What gets my attention is his makeshift railgun and that ugly thing he calls a shotgun." He replied. "The former shouldn't be possible and the latter might be evidence he's making a point about being from the post-apocalypse."

"You don't think that he might craft those buggers all by himself."

"Not likely, Sledge. The kid says he bought one of them. So it means someone is making them and selling them off, but if that was the case why build an inferior weapon than grab some goodies and sell them instead. It doesn't make any sense."

However, Ash didn't want this conversation regarding the stranger to get out of hand. "We can focus on him after we deal with the threat of the white masks. As I understand, we are doing an excellent job at keeping the infected to a minimum and even reducing the rate of whatever this thing we're fighting." She pointed out. "Now that the terrorists are operating in the quarantine zone, it's possible that they're the ones who started this attack in the first place. What do you think, Twitch?" The leader asked as she looked at the French woman.

"Me? If we had Dokkaebi we might find something, but I doubt she'll have access to something that is Russian." She turned her head towards the Russian. "I'm rather suspicious since it came from the Soviet Union in the first place."

"What are you looking at me for?" Tachanka wondered. "I wasn't the one who brought down whatever the hell this is."

"Yes, but you did identify whatever container that held this thing in the first place."

The informal leader of Rainbow took the attention of the entire room as she staved off the possibility of the two agitating each other. "Both of you, enough. Use that energy on trying to kill neutralize these hostiles. We can worry about it later. Right now, we need to eliminate this cell once and for all."

Ash noticed a figure walk into the command tent which his French accent catching everyone by surprise. "I think I could help with that."

Everyone turned around, only to be looking at their friendly medical professional with several papers in his hand. "Do you remember your Russian friend that you handed off to me?"

"Artyom? What about him? Does he have a hand in this?"

"No, but he was rather helpful. After I checked him and these documents for any high radiation threats, it turns out he was sneaky enough to get their plans while they tried to kill him. Our problem is coming from Bolivia." He replied. "As it turns out, our neighborhood terrorists don't have a technical skills to bring down…" His gaze fell upon Tachanka. "... whatever this was."

"What do you propose we do about Artyom?"

The doctor placed the plans of the white masks down on the table before he pulled out several pictures from his vest. Everyone was surprised when they saw a creature they didn't expect. "He seems to be telling the truth. He calls that thing a watchman."

Thatcher grabbed the photo and inspected it through his gas mask. "Bloody hell, it looks like something out of a horror movie."

Then Twitch spoke up. "I wouldn't be so keen on trusting him."

"Likewise lass, but my gut is telling me that we can't just leave him here all by himself. Somebody has to watch him."

Ash was quick to grab her headset as everyone glanced over at her. "Six, what do you mean he's an asset." This was a sudden surprise as she looked over to everyone else to speak. "Everyone, Six is sending someone over to talk to him, but they're considering on recruiting him."

To everyone's surprise, they stared at her with shock. "Wait, they're recruiting him and not even considering to interview him." Twitch pondered. "That's odd."

"Apparently, he's a good friend to Zofia's husband. I don't know how he knows him, but they want him."

Thatcher was quick to make a comment. "The lad does have a railgun, I don't blame Six if we could get the advantage of having in firepower." At that mere moment, everyone stared at him. "What? I may hate the bloody laser sights, but I appreciate ingenuity when I see it."

* * *

Artyom had been told to shower to remove the radiation issue he had on his person, he had been immediately given a foreign uniform from one of the soldiers of this strange place. After he cleaned himself up, he walked out of the tent to recognize one of the familiar faces that rescued him. "Hello Artyom. I see they got the radiation out of your system." Her foreign accent still surprising him.

He chuckled at the thought of washing radiation away. If only there was such a commodity for the rest of the Metro. "I'm glad I stumbled upon that. It's better than the anti-radiation drugs back home." He replied. "So what happens now?"

"At the moment, keeping an eye on you. What do you intend to do?" The foreign woman asked.

The young man looked down at his stomach and felt a growling urge from within signal him. "Where can I get a meal?"

"Follow me, I'll lead the way."

The Polis Ranger held his reservations about these people, but he loosened up after being reminded that they were the same people who rescued him. In the world of the Metro, it was an important part of stalker culture. While he followed the woman, he looked around to see these strange rotating aircraft fly above him while dozens of soldiers found themselves busy in their duties. Others were simply standing around with their assault rifles hanging from their shoulder with vehicles passing by their conversations. This was the strangest place indeed, but there was a sense of awe from his child-like side. It had been two decades since mankind had any working vehicles on the surface. There was one, but it was immediately scrapped by the demons - the top species of Moscow.

When the duo arrived in a strange tent, Artyom 's nose caught the warm aroma around a table of meals. What made this different from home was the mere fact that the meals were not pork or rat. Behind the table was a cook with black skin, he had never seen before. While he heard of stories from his elders about men who came from distant lands and joined the rest of the Russian populace after the war. Artyom had met cossacks, Mongolians, and those from eastern descent, but never a black person. This tall man towered over him as he waved his hand at the woman who was guarding him. "Good morning, Twitch." He asked in a deep voice.

"Good morning, Castle. What do you have in store for us? More American meals to kill a heart."

"Hey now, no need to go on the offensive. It's not like I could make an omelette with an MRE." Castle replied. "Who's this guy?"

Twitch looked over her shoulder and stole a glance from Artyom. "He's the guy Ash found in the field."

"Ah, makes sense why he's following you around."

A curious question came into mind as spoke up. "What's an MRE?"

"Wait? You don't know what an MRE is?" Artyom shook his head. "Is he living under a rock?"

"No, but I have been living in Metro tunnels twenty years after the nuclear bombs fell." Castle and Twitch stared at him. "May I have some of those MREs?"

"Sure…" Castle trailed off. "Twitch, may I have a word with you?"

As the duo moved to the back of the tnet to speak, Artyom grabbed a tray and immediately dumped a ladle of beans onto his tray.

* * *

A young German woman found herself tinkering with the strange weapon she had been given. While Twitch was busy elsewhere, IQ found herself cleaning wires and making sure the dirt didn't ruin the weapon's 'barrel'. Despite being a makeshift weapon, it was an amazing piece of equipment that Ash handed over to her. The mere fact that this was made for infantry-level combat was revolutionary in every way. What made it better was the simple matter that it didn't require large sums of money to make special ammunition when the ammunition was simply ball-bearings.

Yet, the French woman telling her that this weapon was _bought_ instead of hand made was enough for her to be curious. The German continued to tinker with the weapon's makeshift identity, but what was clear that despite it's raw firepower it was held back by the weight. As she continued to study the weapon, she also noted that the cases of ball-bearings always came in these line cartridges. The railgun's ammo was located in the most strange position she had ever seen, but she didn't mind that.

Her loneliness was interrupted when the tent's flapps opened up, revealing Twitch and the stranger they had rescued. "Evening IQ, do you still have an idea how this thing works?" She asked.

The German shook her head. "Nein. Still trying to understand how it works, but what I do know is that this thing requires it's power supply to be hand-cranked. Not something I'd like to see in combat."

The young man walked over to the table and began to touch his weapon. Upon further inspection, he spoke. "Spasibo, thank you for cleaning this out."

"No problem, I'm just curious why you haven't cleaned it before." IQ wondered.

"Never had the luxury. Plus, never had the chance to clean the Hellbreath and cleaning supplies were always low."

"So, how did you make this?"

"I didn't."

She raised her eyebrows and folded her arms across her chest. "Okay, that is full of bullshit. Surely you know a thing or two."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I really don't. I'm a stalker, not a weaponsmith."

IQ stared at her colleague. "I don't know whether to believe him or not."

The French woman chuckled behind her mask. "You can let Ash worry about Artyom."

Then Artyom departed from his weapon and began to look at a whole assortment of the weapons that several operators used. However, the Russian picked up one of the empty guns that were meant for Rainbow's Spetsnaz members. "This Kalash, it looks fairly new."

The German was quick to identify the weapon. "It's called an AK-12. Fuze uses it when he isn't gunning down an entire hallway with a light machine gun or making sure he doesn't blow himself up. You don't have something like that where you're from?"

He shook his head. "No. I've never seen this model before." He answered. "The design looks far different from a Kalash 2012."

"How different?" She asked. "Can you even describe it?"

Artyom looked around, only to pick up a gun from Doc's arsenal. He presented it and compared the two. "Where I am from, the Kalash 2012 would be the bastardization of these two guns."

"When you mean by bastardization, do you mean a mix of the two?"

"Da."

"Interesting. I'll have a talk with Fuze, maybe he might know a thing or two about what you're talking about."

* * *

Author's Note: Due to the fact that the plot I have at the moment, is non-existent. I'll have to put this fanfic on hiatus/pause while I consider my options. I like this crossover idea, but it is quite lackluster and I think it would be better to do a rewrite. So if you see that this fic is "Complete" it doesn't mean that I'm done with this fic. I'm in the middle of making a rewrite to improve this idea.

* * *

 **Someguy the Anon** : Given that I essentially have to develop my own plot around this event, it tends to be difficult for me to type u.

 **LanzCorporalAssWipe** : Already covered that.

 **NamThunder** : It's essentially near the end of the event.

 **Hindresh** : Thanks.

 **iloveTanks** : Artyom doesn't have any military training and skills. He definitely has survival skills, but not military skills.

 **Guest** : I tend to update fics in a particular order. Just to give you a heads up.

 **sniperswordsman** : Again, I update my fics in a particular order.

 **Kerrowe** : Thanks.


End file.
